Wednesday, July 18: Hosea 7 - God's relentless pursuit of us.

God longs to heal Israel, but all of His moves to restore or heal lead only to more sin (1)… The inner corruption of Israel show through over and over again.

The whisper of God reminds me that that my inner corruption shows through again and again too…

Even though I found myself attracted to verse 1 for my morning meditation, I wasn’t quite sure what the NIV was saying… so I read it in different translations…

NIV: "Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed. …

ICB: I would like to heal Israel. But their sin can be seen by everyone. The wickedness of Israel is too well-known. They cheat one another. They break into other peoples' houses. There are robberies in the streets.

MSG: "Every time I gave Israel a fresh start, wiped the slate clean and got them going again, Ephraim soon filled the slate with new sins, the treachery of Samaria written out in bold print. Two-faced and double-tongued, they steal you blind, pick you clean.

Listening to these different translations cleared up my uncertainty. God was continually healing (forgiving, giving a fresh start to) Israel and each time Israel returned to her cheating, lying, stealing, sinning ways. God sent Hosea to give Israel yet another chance to change and truly return to Him.

I flashed to my own life. All too often I slide back into my same sin-patterns after God heals (forgives, gives me a fresh start).

My morning with my Lord reminds me that I must never take God’s forgiveness and mercy for granted. Never.

Oh, Holy Spirit, help me to change, to grow, to mature, to be truly transformed, so that each and every day I seek to live like You would have me live. That others would see Jesus, be introduced to Jesus, be drawn to Jesus through my living. Amen.